Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain drives during the Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang on March 24, 2013. Hamilton finished in third place.
Lewis Hamilton wrapped up his pre-season testing with Mercedes in eye-catching style on Saturday with a lap that was easily the fastest seen so far this year in Barcelona.
The 2008 Formula One world champion, who will make his Mercedes race debut in Melbourne on March 17, lapped a dry Circuit de Catalunya in one minute 20.558 seconds to top the penultimate day's timesheets.
Germany's Nico Rosberg will complete testing for the team on Sunday.
Although too much should not be read into what happens at the test track, Hamilton's lap was more than a second quicker than his fastest time in qualifying for last year's race there (1:21.707).
Lewis Hamilton won the pole position for the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix on Saturday, while Formula One leader Sebastian Vettel will start fourth and title challenger Fernando Alonso only seventh.
Hamilton set a lap of 1 minute, 12.458 seconds with his McLaren at Interlagos, just .055 in front of teammate Jenson Button. Vettel's Red Bull teammate Mark Webber will start third after a lap of 1:12.581, with Vettel behind him with a run of 1:12.760.
Ferrari's Felipe Massa was fifth after clocking 1:12.987, while teammate Alonso only managed a lap of 1:13.253, hurting his chances of overtaking Vettel for the championship. His lap was only good for eighth place, but he later moved up a spot because sixth-place Pastor Maldonado of Williams was penalized 10 grid positions for not stopping for weighing.
Sao Paulo: Lewis Hamilton was fastest in the first practice for the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix on Friday, while Formula One leader Sebastian Vettel was second.
Fernando Alonso, the only driver fighting Vettel for the title, was fifth fastest.
Hamilton, in his last race with McLaren, had a lap of 1 minute, 14.131 seconds at Interlagos, .0009 in front of Vettel's Red Bull. Vettel teammate Mark Webber was third in 1:14.198 and Jenson Button of McLaren was fourth in 1:14.217.
Alonso, who tested different wings during the morning session, clocked 1:14.392, finishing ahead of Ferrari teammate and home-crowd favorite Felipe Massa.
Vettel has a 13-point lead over Alonso and needs to finish fourth or better to become F1's youngest three-time champion at age 25. He can also be the first to win three in a row since Michael Schumacher in 2004.
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton (R) of Britain is followed by Red Bull Racing driver Sebastian Vettel (L) of Germany through turn 17 during the United States Formula One Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas on November 17, 2012 in Austin, Texas. A bold passing maneuver at the end of a long straightway slipped Hamilton past Vettel allowing Hamilton on to win the US Grand Prix on Novermber 17 in the first Formula One race on American soil since 2007.
Germany's Sebastian Vettel (L) of Team Red Bull Racing sprays champagne on Britain's Lewis Hamilton (C) of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes after Hamilton won the United States Formula One Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas on November 17, 2012 in Austin, Texas. Also pictured is Spain's Fernando Alonso (R) of Scuderia Ferrari who finished thrid and Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh (2nd L).
